Pelosi and Mnuchin are ‘narrowing their differences’ on a stimulus package as the deadline for a deal looms

• Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin “narrowed their differences” over a phone call on Monday about a stimulus package, a Pelosi spokesman said.
• Pelosi has said any stimulus deal must be agreed by the end of Tuesday so Congress can pass it before the election on November 3. 
• Pelosi told MSNBC on Monday evening that the Trump administration “have finally in the last 24 hours … come to a place where they are willing to address the crisis, the coronavirus, to crush the virus.”
• But significant disagreements still stand in the way over costs, unemployment benefits, and coronavirus testing.
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin “continued to narrow their differences” during an hour-long discussion about a multi-trillion-dollar stimulus package on Monday ahead of a looming deadline for an agreement, a Pelosi spokesman said.

Drew Hammill said on Twitter: “The Speaker continues to hope that, by the end of the day Tuesday, we will have clarity on whether we will be able to pass a bill before the election.

“The two principals will speak again tomorrow and staff work will continue around the clock,” he said.

Pelosi has said any stimulus deal must be agreed by the end of Tuesday so Congress can pass it before the election on November 3. 

She told MSNBC on Monday evening that the Trump administration “have finally in the last 24 hours … come to a place where they are willing to address the crisis, the coronavirus, to crush the virus.” The Trump administration had agreed to language related to addressing racial disparities around the impact of the virus, she said.

But plenty of areas of disagreement remain about the stimulus package, which would include $1,200 checks for taxpayers.

—Drew Hammill (@Drew_Hammill) October 19, 2020

Democrats insist on at least $2.2 trillion in additional spending to prop up people, businesses, and public-health agencies. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has made a $1.8 trillion-offer to Democrats — but Senate Republicans want to spend less, which reduces the changes of any deal becoming law.

Pelosi told House Democrats earlier Monday that significant obstacles stand in the way of any deal, according to four people who were present in the closed conference call, per Bloomberg.

The looming deadline has made investors cautious about betting too heavily on a deal. Futures on the S&P 500, Dow Jones and Nasdaq 100 indices rose between 0.6 and 0.7% on Tuesday, pointing to a modest rise at the start of trade on Wall Street. The three indices fell by nearly 2% the previous day.